A long, long time ago I discovered David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd, singing Sonnet 18. It was my first experience with Shakespeare-to-music, and it just happened to be one of my favorite bands. Well, the solo guy from that band, but still. At the time I used the expression, “Excuse me while my head explodes, in the good way.”
(Later, someone from Google quoted me on that one when Google Books announced their Shakespeare project.)
And there was the German rock opera Hamlet In Space, which was so good that I had songs from their sampler in my regular playlist (I’ve long since lost them, alas).
So I’m quite excited to see Hamlet : A Rock Experience, which puts Hamlet to the music of Pink Floyd’s The Wall:

A prince descends into madness, haunted by the ghost of his murdered father, hatred for the uncle who usurped him and resentment toward a mother he feels has betrayed him.

A troubled rock star, oppressed by an overprotective mother, abusive teachers and the superficiality of stardom, imprisons his inner rage behind a mental wall, each brick closing him off from the rest of the world.

I would kill to see that. Hamlet and The Wall could be the new Dark Side / Wizard of Oz.

The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles will determine at the end of this month whether Hamlet was mentally competent at the time he murdered Polonius.
I’ve never seen one of these up close, but they’ve been done before. I’d like to see a transcript, if nothing else:
Defense Attorney : Mr. Hamlet, should you have been in your mother’s bedchamber in the first place?
Hamlet : No.
DA : And why not?
Hamlet : The ghost told me not to.
DA : Defense rests.

In another thread, JM wrote “I’d have to “somewhat” disagree, Charlene, since I believe Hamlet to BE Shakespeare. But that’s another topic altogether. 🙂 “
Continue. 🙂

Working on my computer at home yesterday, my 4yr old son comes running into the room. He’s been on the family computer, playing what they call The Shakespeare Game, an animated flash thing we’ve talked about before where a modern actor dressed like Shakespeare asks process-of-elimination questions about characters until you finally guess the right answer (“The character I’m thinking about was not a friend of Romeo.” So, cross out Mercutio. You get the idea.)

Anyway, 4yr old comes flying into the room to announce, “Daddy Daddy Daddy! I’m playing the Shakespeare game? And the question was Hamlet? And I got the right answer!”

“Great job!” I say. “High five!”

The boy delivers an acceptable high five, and then without missing a beat leaves his hand up in the air almost as if holding Yorick’s skull and says, “To be….or not to be. That is the question.” And then runs back into the room to play more.

I love my house.